Knife or fork cleaner.



am 9 .6 8 .2 V o N d e t n e t a DI A L A T N A On A A 7 7 3 6 N KNIFE 0R FORK CLEANER. (Application filed Aug. 29, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

- (No Model.)

No. 637,974. Patented Nov. 28,1899.

A RANTALA KNIFE 0R FORK CLEANER.

(Application filed Aug. 29, 1899.)

(No Mo dal.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Aucusr RANTALA, or NAVARRO, CALIFORNIA;

KNIFE OR FORK CLEANER.

srEcIFIoATIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,974, dated November 28, 18. .9.

' Application filed August 29, 1899. Serial No. 728,837. (No model.)

To ail whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, AUGUST RANTALA, a citizen of the United States, residing at Navarro, county of Mendocino, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Knife or Fork Cleaners; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear and exact description of the same. 7

My invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning knives, forks, and like articles,

It consists of a roller, revolubly mounted, having a surface adapted to retain and carry cleaning material, an adjustable support for the article to be cleaned, mechanism by which it is advanced to carry the article forward and retain it in contact with the cleaningroller, and means for disengaging and returning it after it has been advanced and cleaned.

My invention also comprises details of construction which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspecti ve view of the cleaner. Fig. 2 shows the opposite 'side with parts shown in sections. Fig. 3 shows the rackbar disengaged from its pinion. Fig. 4 is a part cross-sectional and part edge View of the same.

The framework A is of any suitable construction and as here shown is adapted to be secured upon the edge of atable or other support by means of a clamping-screw B. In this framework is jonrnaled ashaft 0, upon which is mounted a roller D, the surface of which may be made of thicknesses of woolen fabric, felt, or other material of such a nature that it will carry a polishing material and yield some to pressure. Upon the shaft of this roller is fixed a pinion E, which is engaged by a gear-wheel F, journaled in the frame and revoluble by means of a crank G, or power may be applied'through any of the usual or well-known means.

H. is a rack-bar passing through suitable guides near the inner end of the roller, and the teeth upon' the rack-bar engage with a small toothed pinion I upon the end of the crank-shaft, so that when the crank is turned the rack-barwill be advanced. The guide J of the rack-bar is here shown as pivoted at the end most distant from the driving-pinion and is normally drawn downward by a spring K, so as to hold the rack-bar in contact with its driving-pinion. Upon the side of the guide is pivoted a toothed cam L, the teeth of which 5 5 normally rest upon the teeth of a pinion Zon the crank-shaft, but in such position that while the rack-baris being advanced the camlever rises and falls by the action of the teeth of the pinion,but without operativelyengag- 6o ing them.

V After the rack-bar has been advanced as far as desired and it is necessary to return it to its normal position the crankshaft is tu'rned a half-revolution backwardly,

and the teeth of the cam then, engage with the teeth of the pinion upon which they rest, and by it the cam is pushed upward and acting upon the guide of the rack-bar lifts it about its pivot-point until the rack-bar is raised out of contact with the teeth of its pin-- ion. The rack-bar can then be pulled back by hand and is in readiness for another forward movement. As soon as the crank is turned in the direction to advance the rackbar the cam assumes its normal position, the

spring pulls the rack-guide down until the rack is again in contact with its pinion, and the device is again ready to operate. This rack-bar carries a support for the handles of the articles to be cleaned. This support consists of bars 0, one of which has one end clamped upon an arm P, which projects from the side of the rack-bar into the plane of r0- tation of the cleaning-roller. The remaining sections of the bars 0 are hinged together alternately at opposite ends, so that the outer bar, which stands in line with the roller, may be raised or depressed or turned about its hinge-point with great freedom, and this allows the article to be cleaned to be properly be allowed the necessary freedom of motion, 5

the hinged bars turning and moving freely for this purpose.

The outer supporting-bar for the article to be cleaned has upturned ends, the one nearest the cleaning-roller forming a shoulder 0,-

against which the front end of the handle of the knife or other article abuts, and the rear upturned end 0 may be formed or coated with rubber or other soft material which will not scratch the handle of the article.

In line beneath the cleaning-roller is a pressure-roller Q, journaled at the upper end of a stem or shank g, which is movable in a guide R and has a spring R, by which it is normally pressed upwardly against the cleaning-roller. I

S is an eccentric or cam lever pivoted to the stem or shank of the pressure-roller and having its cam-surface adapted to contact with a portion of the guide in which the stem slides, so that when the lever is turned in one direction the cam acting against the lug or shoulder forces the stem down and withdraws the pressure roller from the cleaning roll-er. When the lever is moved in the opposite direction, it allows the spring to force the pressure-roller up, and after the article to be cleaned has been introduced bet-ween the two rollers the pressure of this roller holds it firmly in contact with the revolving cleaning-roller, so that the surface in contact with said roller will be thoroughly polished while the article is slowly advanced between the two'by means of the rack-bar previously described. The shoulders or stop. upon the bar which supports the article to be cleaned act as a restrainer to prevent the knife or other article being drawn rapidly through the rollers by the friction, in which case the surface would not be subjected to the rubbing action necessary to clean it. thus .allowed to pass between the rollers and has been thoroughly cleaned, a backward semiturn of the crank-shaft acts to raise the rack-bar from its driving-pinion,as previously described, and it can then be readily pulled back and the article released from the rollers and removed. As soon as another article has been placed in position the forward movement of the crank allows the rack-bar to engage its pinion and be again moved forward.

In order to supply a suitable cleaning or polishing material in sufficient quantity upon the cleaning-roller, I have shown a hopperT supported by an arm U, which is loosely turnable upon a horizontal bar V, projecting above the roller. The lower end of this-hopper has an angular roller W journaled upon it,;and this roller rests against the cleaningroller andv forms a partial support for the hopper. \Vhen the cleaning-roller is being turned, its. contact with this angular roller causes the latter to. rotate and producea shaking motion of the loosely-suspended hopper, which acts to shake out a portion of its contents, so that the roller will be constantly supplied with the cleaning material. material may be any of the usual well-knownpolishing substances and is placed in the hop per. Its discharge from the hopper is controlled by means of a valve Y, which is adjustable upon the bottom of the hopper to allow any desired quantity of material to escape and be sifted down upon the roller by When the article has been This" the shaking which is induced by the action of its irregular supporting-roller.

It will be understood that any other suitable arrangement of mechanism for shaking the hopper may be employed which will be an equivalent of that here shown, the object being to provide a suitable supply of cleaning material at all times.

The jointed arms which act as a support for the handle of the article to be cleaned are particularly useful in cleaning such articles as forks and the like which have more or less reverse curves; so that when the surface is fol lowing the roller the handle will be raised and lowered to accom modate these curves. In this case the joints of the support yield freely, so that the stop against which the'handle, abuts 1 will retain its contact while freely following the irregular movements of the handle. i Having thus described my invention, what 1 I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

i 1. In a cleaning and polishing device,ia journaled revoluble roller having a surface adapt- -ed to carry the polishing material, a pressure roller between which and the cleaning-roller the article to be cleaned is introduced, an automatically-adjustable. support and stop for the handle of the article, a rack-bar by which said support is carried, a pinion with which said rack bar engages and mechanism by which the. pin-ion and the cleaning-roller are I revolved in unison.

2. A cleaning and polishing device consisting of a journaled revoluble roller having a surface adapted to carry the polishing material, a pressure roller journaled upon a spring-pressed stem by which it is forced into contact with the cleaning-roller, a cam-lever 5 fulcrumed and acting upon said stem to withj draw the pressure-roller or to allow itto be forced into contact with the cleaning-roller, a hinged automatically-adjustable handle-sup 1 port for thearticle to be cleaned and: a rackbar upon which said support iscarried, and means for advancing said' rack-bar in unisonwith the revolution of the cleaning-roller.

3. A device for cleaning and polishing, consisting of a revoluble cleaning pressure-roller, 'aholder and guide for the article to be cleaned, and means for advancing it in unison with the revolution of the cleaning-roller, a hopper containing the polishing material supported above the cleaning-roller, and a journaled roller upon which the hopper rests, said idle roller being rotatable by contact with the cleaning-roller.

.4. A device for cleaning and polishing consisting of a revoluble cleaning-roller, a pressure-roller adapted to retain the article to be cleaned in-contact with the cleaning-roller, a hinged automatically-adjustable support and stop for the handle of the article to be cleaned whereby its movement toward the cleaningroller is regulated, a rack-bar upon which said supportis'carried, gearing by which the-cleam ing-roller is revolved, a pinion driven by said gearing with which the rack-bar engages and by which it is advanced in unison with the revolution of the roller, and a device for dis-i bring the rack-bar into contact with its driving-pinion, and a toothed cam fulcrumed to said guide adapted to raise its free end and the rack-bar out of engagement with the pinion-teeth by a reverse movement of the crankshaft.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

AUGUST RANTALA.

Witnesses 5 S. H. NOURSE, JESSIE O. BRODIE. 

